Safety device for mines.



,1. A. NQLAN. 5 sAFETYoEvIcE FOR MINES, APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2B, 1916I RENEWED MAR. 21, 1919.

lms., m6111601 Ap?. 22, 1919. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. A. NOLAN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MINES. APPLICAUON F1LED1UNE 28. 1916. RENEWED 1111111. 21, 1919.

LSQLT/SQD 1 Patented Apr. 22, 19111.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FIG. S 1 4l 1 39 j rn m m 1 mln-masses l *L *Le lmvmrom WITNESSES j. A. NOLAN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MINES. Y APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28. |916. RENE\-IEDMAR.2I.1919.

aytented Apr. 22, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

all

JAMES A. NOLAN, 0F BOWERSTON, OH, ASSIGNGR TO THE I'JHNNG SAFETY DEVCE COM'ANY, Oli BOWERSTON, OHIG.

SAFETY DEVCE EUR. MINES.

incense.

Application filed June 2e, 1916, Serial No. OGAEl. Renewed March 2l, i919.

To all yHwm if may concern:

Be it known that l, latins Nonni, a citizen -of the llnited States. residing at Bowerston, in the county of Harrison and State ot hio. have invented new and useful lmprovements in Safety Devices t'or Mines, ot which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety devices tor mines and 'the like and particuhn'ly nto coal mines in which lifts or elevators are employed in the shaft for conveying loaded mine cars from the lower level to a higher level or to the (lump.

@ne ot the objects of' my invention is to provide means whereby the cars can be conveniently caged and uncaged without the liability of accidentally dumping a car into the sump or the cage well.

Another object-of the invention is to provide means whereby the cars will be automatically ted upon the cage and retained during the upward or lifting movement of the cage and automatically released upon the limit of the downward movement of the cage in such manner that manual attention to the receiving and delivery of the cars to and from the cage will not be necessary.

ln carrying out my invention l have provided means whereby the cars will initially be held a definite distance away from the cage, the upward movement of the cage however operates certain releasing devices which permits the first car ot a series to automatically move Jforward to a point where it is held adjacent to the cage by certain horns or other suitable stop mechanism. The downward movement or the cage however is elective in releasing the first car from the stop mechanism and causing it to be deposited upon the cage where it will be held preparatory to being raised to the proper level. As soon as 'the cage starts to ascend the next 'succeeding car on the track will be fed to a point adjacent to the stops or horns ready to Lmove onto the cage at the proper'time. `When the car which has been received by the cage is dumped the cage then descends and upon reaching the limit of its downward movement the caged car is automatically released to pass onto a receiving track and simultaneously the first loaded car of the series automatically moves onto the cage and it in turn is lifted to the proper level. l

.ln order to convey a comprehensive idea of the novel features of my invention I have Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Apr.. 22,

Serial No. 544,265.

illustrated one form but it is to be understood that l do not limit myself to the spe- .cific details shown, it being apparent that changes in form proportion and minor details ot construction may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit ot the invention or sacrificing any oi' its advantages.

ln the drawings Figure l, is a plan view ot a portion of a delivery track, a cage mechanism and a portion ot' a receiving track the cage bottoni being shown in dotted lines in vorder to clearly illustrate certain mechanism carried thereby.

Fig. 2, is a side elevational view ot a portion of a delivery track, a cage, and a receiving track, the cage in this instance being shown in full lines.

Fig. 8, is an end elevational view of the cage showing the car slings applied thereto. Fig. l, is a bottom plan view vof the cage.

Fig. 5, is a sectional view on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4, showing the bottom or bearing plate thereof.

Fig. 6, is an end view ot' a slightly 1nodi fied form of cage.

Fig. 7, is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 8, is a bottom view of a cage showing an aXle engaging stop..

Fig. 9, is a detail perspective view of the stops or horns, and'lig. 10, is a detail perspective view of the axle engaging stop.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals of reference l and 2 designate the two rails of a delivery track, and 3 and 4 the rails of the receiving track it being understood that the delivery ends of the receiving track may join the receiving ends of the delivery track in the form of a loop so that the transmission ot' the car may be continuous except when interrupted by the cage in the shaft. The space between the delivery end and receivingl end of the track is occupied by a shaft at which point is a sump or elevator well 5.

Adjacent to the shaft and connected to the delivery track is certainA feed mechanism which l will proceed to describe.

On the sides of the rails 1 and 2 are brackets 6, 7 8 and 9 by means of which certain stops or horns, operating rock shafts, are spaced away from the rails. kBy referenceto Figs. 1 and 2 it will be observed that the bracket 6 on the rails carries a relativelyshort rock shaft 10 while a corresponding ice rock shaft 11 is carried by the bracket 8. Un the shafts and 11 are horns or stops 12 and 13 best shown in detail in Fig. 9 with each stop consisting of a relatively curved body portion 14 provided with shaft receiving openings 15 with fingers or wheel-tread-engaging portions 16. In view of the fact that the shafts 10 and 11 are spaced away from y are two rock shafts 17 and 18.

the side of the rail and the fingers are inclined, the pivot point for the stops will per mit almost an instantai'ieous release of the car wheels and thereby provide a more rapid operation than can be possible where vertical stops are employed with pi-voted points close to the rails.

J ournaled on the brackets 6 and 7, 8 and 9 The rock shaft 17 is in line with the shaft 10 and the shaft 18 is in line with the shaft 11. These shafts are also provided with stops or horns 19 and 20 and between the horns 19 and 20 and the bearings of the brackets 7 and 8 are buffer springs 21 and 22.

Intermediate lthe shafts and running longitudinal of the shaft is a rock shaft 23 provided on one end with a crank 24 and on the other end with a depending counter-balance weight 25.

On the shaft 23 is an inclined lever 26 the inclination of which is opposed to the in clination of the lever' 27 and the lever 26 is provided with links 28 and 29 which en gage depending cranks 30 and 31 on the shafts 10 and 11. Links 32 and 33 are connected to the lever 27 and to cranks 34 and 35 on the shafts 17 and 18.

Inasmuch as the levers 26 and 27 are aty different angles it is apparent that the rotation of the shaftv 23 in one direction will impart a releasing movement to one set of stops and a retaining movement to the other set of stops so that when one car is being fed onto the cage by the release of the stops 19 and 2O the next succeeding car will be held against movement onto the cage by the stops 12 and 13.

The base 36 of the cage is provided with standards 37 and 38 which may have cross connections to form a lifting yoke or stirrup for the cage. The construction of this however, is immaterial. The base 36 is also pro.- vided with a bearing plate consisting of a casting 39 bolted or otherwise fastening to the base and provided with lugs 40 extending through the base and each adapted to receive a pivot pin 41 on which are certain laterally swinging releasable stops. v

In Fig. 4 1 have shown three of.v these lugs on one of which is a trigger 42 having an offset portion 43 normally overlapping thetread of the rail and pivoted stops 44 and 45 mounted on the pivots 41 and adjacent to the receiving rails 3 and 4. These stops are also adapted to overlap the rails 46 and 47 on the cage and on the under side of the cage bottom is a crank shaft 48 adapted to have bot-h a rotative and longi tudinal movement. The trigger 42 also serves as a back block to take up the rebound of the car when it strikes the stops 44 and 45, thus the car is held at a definite point on the cage.

The crank shaft is provided with a sleeve 49 fixed thereto and formed with a bifurcated portion 50 the bifurcation of which is secured to links 51 and 52 which in turn are fastened to oppositely disposed cranks 53 and 54 on the pivots carrying stops 44 and 45.

A tension spring is anchored at one end to the bottom of the cage and connected at the other to the bifurcated portion 5() of the sleeve 49. The purpose of the spring is to rotate the shaft` 48 from right to left as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and to swing the crank 55', on the end of the shaft 48 in a downward direction. 56 is a buffer spring interposed between the bearing 57 and the sleeve 49 so that when the car wheel moves the trigger 42 from left to right the crank 58 operated thereby will impart a longitudinal movement to the shaft 48 against the pressure of the expansion spring 56 in such a manner that upon pressure being relieved from the trigger the spring will move the shaft 48 in a direction opposite to that which is imparted to it through the trigger 42.

`Shaft 48 and connection 60 will be in the position shown in F ig. 4. By reference to Figs. 1 and2 it will be observed that the end 61 of the crank 24 projects a short distance across the sump or in other words that it will be in the path of the descending cage. It will also he observed that there is an actuating member or arm 62 at the opposite side of the sump which projects in the path of the crank arm or lever 55. y

Assuming that all the parts are properly assembled and in their correct relative positions as shown in Fig. 1, the first of the loaded cars will have its front wheels resting against the stops 12 and 13. As soon as the cage `is lifted asutficient distance from the member 61 the counter-balance 25 will limpart a partial rotation to the crank shaft 23 so that the crank 24 will assume a substantially vertical position and the stops 12 and 13 will be swung out of contact with the wheels of the first car permitting them to move into contact with the stops 19 'and 2O which will havev been simultaneously moved across the rail tread at the time the steps 12 and 13 move away from the wheels.

The first car then will have been fed in a position ready to be caged when the cage descends to the proper level to receive it. Asthe cage descends it will strike against the member 61 overcoming the counter-balance 25 moving the stops 19 and 2() awa)r from the wheels of the first car and causing the shaft 48.

merma the stops 12 and 13 to move into a position to retard the second car. As the stops 19 and 2() are moved out of rctarding position the rst car will pass onto the cage. As the trip arm 55 is initially resting on the actuating member' or arm 62 the stops 44 and 45 are away from the rail tread. As soon as the first car passes onto the cage the front wheels strike the trigger 42 and through the medium of the arm 58 and 'the connection 60 reciprocatory motion will be imparted to This movement being suiiicient to cause the arm 55 to slide over the actuating member or arm 62 and as a result the spring 55 will impart rotative movement to the shaft 48 with an inward pull on the links 51 and 52 causing the stops 44 and 45 tooverlap the treads of the rails 46 and 47 so that the car will be caged and prevented from moving over the rear end of the` cage platform and the car is then ready to be raised to the level of the dump. As the cage is raised to carry the first car to the top the bottom will move olf the crank member 61 and the counter balance weight will give a partial rotation to the shaft 23 so as to swing the stops 12 and 13 outward and the stops 19 and 20 inward. In this way wthe second car will be 'permitted to move up to the delivery end by the stops 19 and 20. 'After the first car has been dumped the elevator cage descends and when it reaches the limit of its downward movement the varm 55 will Vcome in Contact -with the actuating member or arm 62 and in opposition to the spring 55, imparting a partial rotation to the shaft 48 by giving an inward pull to the-links 51 and 52 and thereby move the obstructing portion of the stops 44 and 45 away from the rails 46 and 47 so that the descending car may be uncaged and pass onto the receiving rails 3 and 4. At the same time the *number 1 car has been uncaged the contact of the bottom of the cage with the end 61 will have again turned the crank shaft 23 so as to swing the stops 19 and 20 outwardly and the stops 12 and 13 inwardly, thereby the second car will pass onto the cage and by striking the trigger will move the lever 55 away from the stop 62 so that the stops 44 and 45 will prevent its being uncaged. lhile this is taking place the third car is being held by the stops 12 and 13. The operation of number 2 car and number 3 car or any succeeding cars is the same as the operation of number .1 car, it being understood that after the cars have been illed they are returned to the railsl and 2.

In Fig. 3 1 have shown what might properly be termed slings or suspending devices- 63 and 64, these being not shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 for the sake o1 clearness. The slings 63 and 64 may each consist of a plate 65 fastened to the bottom of the cage and may serve as chairs for the rails 46 and 47. The plates 65 are provided with upstanding portions 66 the ends of which are bent inwardly at substantially right angles to provide flanges 67 at a height substantially coincident with the height of the wheels. As will be apparent by reference to the drawings the sling is long1 enough to overlap both wheels but not long enough to interfere with the stops so that when the cage is at the dumping point it may be inverted without liability of displacing lthe car from the rails 46 and 47.

1n Fig. 6, 1 have shown the cage bottom 36 as being provided with slings 63 and 64 these are provided with cut-out portions 68 and 69 to allow for thepivoted horns or stops 70 and 71 which are pivoted to the "brackets72 and 73 at the side of the rails 46 and 47, these stops in the method of mounting correspond to the stops shown in detail in Fig. 9 and assembled in Figs. 1 and 2 and serve the same purpose as the stops 44 and 45, in Fig. 3. These sto-ps 70 and 71 are connected to cranks 74 and 75 on the shaft 76 by the links 77 and 78. 1nstead of the counterbalance weight 25 1 have provided a spring 79 to normally hold the stops extended across the rails. On one end of the shaft 76 is a lever vor crank arm 8O which corresponds to the crank arm 55 in the preferred form it being understood that the shaft 76 has both longitudinal and partial rota-tive movement- The trigger on the trip 81 which `is constructed like the trip 42 in the preferred form is provided with an arm 82 connected to the shaft 76 by a flexible connection 83.

The construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is such that when the cage assumes its lowermost position the lever 81 will strike against the member 62 and swing the stops 70 and 71 out of the path of the wheels of the caged car and allow it to pass onto the receiving track at the same time the bottom of the cage will have depressed the crank projection 61 of the crank 24 to swing the stops 19 and 20 to releasing position permitting the rst waiting car on the rails 1 and 2 to move onto the cage. As the front wheels of the car being caged swings the trigger 81 from left to right a longitudinal movement will be imparted to the shaft 76 causing the arm to slip off the projection 62 so that the spring 79 can impart an outward thrust to the links 77 and 78 and throw the stop in the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7, thus caging the loaded car. The cage will then be raised and the car dumped as heretofore described.

1n Figs. 8 and 10 1 have shown a slightly modified form of device for caging the oar which consists of a trigger 81, arm 82, connection 83 and connected to an axle engaging stop best shown in Fig. 10 as consists ing of the intermediate portion 84 the right angular fingers 85 and the inclined extension 86 together with spring engaging tinger 87 to which one end 0f a spring 88 is attached the other being attached to the bottom of the cage. T he portion 84, 85 and 86 is shown 'as resting on the top of the cage bottom with a portion 81k, and is opa posed to the action of the trigger 81. In this form when the cage descends the portion 86 will strike the stop causing the part 8'5 to move out of engagement with the axle of the caged car to release it when the loaded car moves onto the cage. It will strike the trigger 8l, as heretofore described and thereby impart a longitudinal movement-tothedevice shown in I `ig.10 and allow the spring 88 to throw the part 85 into engagement with the axle of the ca'r just being caged.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the device is thoroughly automatic in its action and that the car may be caged or uncaged in a relatively rapid manner without the liability of the car being deposited in the sump or elevator well.

What I claim is l. In combination, a cage, pivoted stops, a stationary arm, actuating means for the stops normally lying in a position to engage said arm. in the movement of the cage and means for moving salid first means to a posit-ion where the first means will not engage said arm.

2. In combination, a cage, pivoted stops, a stationary arm, actuating means for the stops normally lying in a position to engage said arm in the movement of thek cage and a pivot'ed trigger having yieldableconnection with said means whereby the latter may be moved to aposition so as to be released from said arm.

3.- In combination, a cage, pivoted stops, a `shaft mounted for longitudinal and rotary movements, a link connection between the stops and shaft, a crank arm secured to said shaft, a stationary arm arranged to engage the crank arm in the movement of the cage, a cofil spring arranged to normally hold the crank arm in a position to engage the stationary arm and a trigger having yieldable connection with the shaft whereby the crank arm may be moved to a position out of engagement with said stationary arm.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES A. NOLAN.

Witnesses:

' MAUD LAW, W. B. LAW. 

